Occupational health and safety news and guidance

A company installing fans on the roof of a South Wales crematorium
endangered workers and members of the public with a haphazard approach
to safety.

Employees of IFZW Maintenance Ltd. were allowed to work on the roof of
Morriston Crematorium in Swansea without any protection from falls - a
risk to their own safety and to members of the public attending funeral
services.

Swansea Magistrates' Court heard on 27 June that IFZW was installing
fans as part of a mercury abatement system when an inspector from the
Health and Safety Executive carried out an unannounced visit on 15
August last year.

Two employees were seen working on the flat roof without any edge
protection. They were using an unsecured ladder leaning on the wall to
gain access, with members of the public walking past.

The company had already been served with a Prohibition Notice by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for working on top of cremator equipment without fall protection at a
site in Sheffield nine weeks previously.

IFZW Maintenance Ltd., of High Street, Biggleswade, pleaded guilty to
breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 for its
failings, and was fined £11,500 and ordered to pay £3,208.30 in costs.